Bowling
by GilmoreGirlAddict
Summary: Oneshot fanfic on the Suite Life episode Bowling. What if Zack hadn't been grounded? Zack's POV, some ZxM.


**Bowling**

**Summary: **One-shot fanfic on the Suite Life episode "Bowling". What if Zack hadn't been grounded? Zack's POV, some ZxM.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing related to the Suite Life.

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All of the pins landed with a loud bang. I had gotten another strike.

I always got a strike, the pressure of being the team's star player and that everyone was counting on me to lead them to victory didn't bother me, it hadn't gotten to me yet. I suppose it should've, or it would have to anybody else, having so many people that usually didn't count on you, people that usually wouldn't count on you, counting on you. But the St. Mark hotel was losing, because of me. I think that's what took away most of the pressure, the fact that my opponents were losing, and mainly because of me. Okay, so I couldn't take all the credit for having the lead -- my team mates helped too, but we were still winning, and I was the star player, I was the best bowler on the team. I was helping the Tipton win with my skills. For once, I was helping the Tipton, we were winning. Who cares if the St. Mark was only behind us by a little bit? The St. Mark was good, but the Tipton was better. At least, the Tipton was better at bowling. Probably not at any other sport, and that had been proved at the flag football game.

Plus, the team was happy for me, cheering me on. Everyone was supporting me, making a pretty big deal out of it but not taking it out of... um, a word that means they didn't make it a really, really big deal. And it seemed that Moseby was, for once, proud of me. Glad that I was there. That felt good, having the man that was always getting mad at you for one thing or another finally being happy that you're there, not wanting you grounded so that you have to stay up in your room all day. He was glad that Mom didn't ground me. And there was everyone else, the rest of the team. I was proving something, proving that even though I'm a kid and even though I'm not smart like Cody I could do things.

Biting my lip, I looked around the almost-empty bowling alley. We were the only people there, not including the St. Mark and the people who worked there, at the bowling alley. By this time the St. Mark had caught up, and it was nearing my turn to bowl. I figured that they had tied with us was because of London's lack of skill, but I could have been wrong, even though I'm almost completely sure that it was London's bowling that allowed them to catch up with us. Almost every time she bowled, it was either in the wrong lane or it didn't hit a pin at all. If Esteban could still play, we would have been winning at that time. But he couldn't, because London had hit him. She didn't mean to, I know that, but she still did it. She had been trying to bowl, but when she brought the bowling ball back it had left her fingers and flown in Esteban's direction, hitting him on the foot. He might have had a broken foot, or at least that's what Cody said. Esteban kept complaining that his foot hurt.

"Just do your best, Zack," Mom had told me as I stood up, getting ready to bowl. It was my turn again, and I was determined to win this. My team was counting on me to win this for them. "If you mess up, don't worry about it." But I could tell that there was something in her voice that told me that she really wanted to win this. I wasn't about to let my mother, of all people, down.

"Yeah, but if you do mess up, you're one big loser! Loser, loser, loser!" London had added, swinging her pom-poms in my face. I pushed them away and rolled my eyes, grabbing the pink bowling ball I had used during practice and concentrating on the pins. I walked forward, my leg sliding behind me as I leaned forward and rolled the ball down the lane. I held my breath, watching it roll down. It seemed to take forever to reach the pins. It knocked all of them over, except for one, and it was all the way near the end of the lane. I couldn't do anything as I waited for my ball to come back, allowing me to take my second chance.

Once it did, I felt the pressure starting to come to me. Even if it was just slightly, it was getting to me. I was getting nervous. Me, nervous? No, I couldn't be! But I was. If I didn't hit this last pin, I would have let my whole team down. I couldn't stand doing that. Usually it wouldn't bother me, but I'd be letting Mom down, I'd be letting Moseby down, and the rest of my team mates. And Maddie. I'd be letting Maddie down. I couldn't do that, I just couldn't.

Taking one deep breath, I rolled the ball down the lane again, and it hit the target perfectly. I smiled as I watched that last bowling pin fall down, then be pushed away from my sight. I was taken over by a sweep of happiness and pride. I looked at the members of the St. Mark hotel's bowling team, my smile widening slightly at the looks of defeat on their faces, and mostly the looks of anger and defeat on Ilsa and her so-called pet's faces.

That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, for two reasons. The hand kind of pushed me around, and that's the first reason, but the second reason is because I was curious of who was right behind me, holding my shoulder. Who would want to talk to me? I knew that it was probably one of my team mates, since I had won the game for them, but I wasn't expecting them to approach me.

My thoughts had been interrupted by the team mate's -- who, I realized just before this happened, was Maddie -- lips hitting mine. I could see her eyes closing and I shut mine as well, knowing this might never happen again, though I did hope it wasn't going to be the first time. After what seemed like only five seconds we broke apart, and I couldn't stop a smile from spreading on my face. I knew that this smile made me look like an idiot, but I didn't care. Maddie was smiling too, I noticed that.

She pulled me over to the others, where they started to hold me up on their shoulders. I laughed as they almost dropped me, and then I glanced at Mom, who I could tell was happy as well. She was smiling broadly, and when I looked at Cody I could tell that he knew something was up with me. But I doubt that he knew that Maddie kissed me.


End file.
